While it doesn't bother my son, he (and I) find the state of the music industry absurd.

He's worked a year on an album that he's really proud of. A year of long, passionate work. He pretty much has to put it up on free streaming sites and he already sees his album on pirate sites. So he knows he's going to make next to nothing on it unless he gets huge. Even what sells on iTunes or physically, he can clear about $7 per album.

But the t-shirts and hats and other merchandise he sells are what are truly going to fund his being a musician unless he makes it big. The t-shirt that he maybe puts ten hours of work into sourcing and designing, he makes about $10 each and that's selling them cheap. Same for hats but he makes nearly $20 per hat for that same ten hours work. He accepts it but finds it crazy that his craft and the only reason people would want to buy his hats or t-shirts can't sustain itself. That he has no choice but to work part time as a merchandiser to make music viable. It's his built in part time job.

All that said, he still thinks it's worth it. The buzz he got from hearing one of his songs on a real radio station (not community or college) has been worth it. Seeing people he doesn't know dancing to his music at shows has been worth it. It's still crazy though.

i just watched an interview with Jerry Cantrell talking with duff? (gnr) about the classic starving artists life. you bust your asses for 3 or 4 years and then maybe, just maybe, you might get noticed .

however , without that ass-busting, there will always be nothing. same with any art i guess. writing., poetry forget it.....that one never pays off